Just outside of Lexington in Kentucky`s bluegrass region is Shakertown at Pleasant Hill. The restored Shaker village, on 2,600 acres, has 30 buildings where exhibits and tour guides depict the singular way of life for the 19th Century religious sect.
In February and March six special Winter Weekend programs have been set where visitors can tour the village on their own and see Shaker craft demonstrations or enjoy planned activities. The village also has craft shops with Shaker furniture reproductions as well as crafts, linens and cookbooks, and for lodging there`s the comfortable 72-room Shakertown`s Inn.
Music plays a big part of the Winter Weekend activities. On Friday a candlelight program of original Shaker music will take place, while on Saturday evening, entertainment will be folk music using the Kentucky mountain dulcimer, autoharp and Irish harp.
Winter Weekends are scheduled for Feb. 12-13, 19-20, 26-27 and March 4-5 and 11-12. Cost is $110 a person, single or double occupancy. Add $27 for children ages 6-11 when accompanying their parents, and $50 for children ages 12-18.
Rates include two nights` lodging, five meals, an exhibition tour ticket and special events.
For more information, contact Shakertown at Pleasant Hill, 3500 Lexington Rd., Harrodsburg, Ky. 40330, or call 606-734-5411.
BIKING ITALY The tour starts in Venice and ends in the town where one of Italy`s most famous landmarks continues to lean. But the leaning tower is just one reason to visit Pisa.
What better way to explore all the nooks and crannies 214 miles in-between than on a bicycle? That`s the idea from the people at Bike Across Italy, who are offering bike tours that take cyclists through the regions of Veneto, Emilia Romagna and Tuscany. The route will go from Venice to Chioggia, Comacchio, Ravenna, Oriello, Faenza, Bertinoro and over the Apennine Mountains on the way to Fiesole and Florence, Lucca and finally, Pisa.
The route includes stops at some wineries for tastings along the way, and has ample time in Florence for participants to visit the museums.
Daily cycling will range from 12 to 45 miles on the 214-mile trip. Cyclists can bike at their own pace and follow a route map provided by Bike Across Italy.
Two tours are scheduled for the Venice to Pisa trip: June 9-22 and June 27-July 10. Cost is $1,100. Price for the 14-day trip includes 13 nights`
lodging, 6 dinners, 10 lunches and 1 breakfast.
The trip also is being offered in reverse and the dates are July 10-22. Price for the 13-day trip is $1,050 and includes 12 nights` lodging, 3 dinners, 10 lunches and 1 breakfast.
A sag wagon-for luggage and tired cyclists-will accompany the groups.
For more information, contact Italian Specialty Tours, 725 Mathews St., Ft. Collins, Colo. 80524, or call 303-484-8489.
MIDWEST MUSHERS The folks in the Wisconsin Dells area have a big weekend planned for Feb. 13-14. It`s their 7th Annual Wisconsin Freighting Championship Sled Dog Races and Christmas Mountain Winter Carnival.
Highlight of the weekend should be the sled dog competition both days at Christmas Mountain.
More than 30 Alaskan malamute and Siberian husky teams from across the country are expected to compete for prizes in various events from 7- and 15-mile freight races and weight pulls to a ”mini-mush” for younger
competitors.
Events planned for the Christmas Mountain Winter Carnival include a chili cooking contest, a torchlight ski parade, free sleigh rides, a bonfire, an ice carving demonstration and a brat and beer tent.
For more information, contact the Wisconsin Dells Visitor and Convention Bureau, P.O. Box 390, Wisconsin Dells, Wis. 53965, or call 800-22-DELLS or 608-253-1000.
A TOUR OF NOTE Verdi`s ”Aida” in Berlin, Mozart`s ”Don Giovanni” in Prague and Wagner`s ”Tristan und Isolde” in Budapest are among the operas featured on a three-week music tour to the European music centers of Warsaw, Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Budapest and Vienna.
Available from the Metropolitan Opera Guild`s Members Travel Program-now in its fifth year-the Exotic Eastern Europe tour includes opera and concert performances almost every night. Some of the operas will be sung in Polish, Czech and Hungarian.
The tour departs May 15 and costs $6,491 a person, double occupancy. Single supplement is $775. Besides musical tickets, the cost includes accommodations and most meals. The group tour will leave from New York. Round trip air fare from New York to Warsaw (start of the tour) is $1,006.
To take this trip, you have to be a member of the Metropolitan Opera Guild-memberships start at $35.
For more information, contact Members Travel Program, Metropolitan Opera Guild, 1865 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10023, or call 212-582-7500.
SEEING BABY SEALS There still are some spaces available on trips sponsored by Seal Watch
`88 to journey to Prince Edward Island or the Magdalen Islands to see the baby harp seals. The area is where about 250,000 baby seals are born each year.
Seal Watch `88 is one organization that has trips to see the seals. Its five-day/four-night packages leave Montreal or Boston March 1, 4, 7, 10 or 13. The rate is $875 plus air fare to the two cities. Included is lodging, half-day helicopter flight to see the seals, a trip on the ice-breaking ferry across the Northumberland Strait and wildlife lectures and presentations. Some meals also are included.
For more information, contact Seal Watch `88, 651 Washington St., Brookline, Mass. 02146, or call 800-343-4070 or 617-734-3100.
TOLL-FREE LAPORTE Want to check on cross-country ski conditions at the Indiana Dunes State and National Parks and updates on ice fishing conditions at the inland lakes in Indiana`s LaPorte County?
The LaPorte County Convention and Visitors Bureau will answer these and other questions about attractions in its neck of the woods.
The number is 800-634-2650, and it`s free for residents of Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio. Otherwise, the number is 219-872-5055.
The bureau operates a visitors center just off Int. Hwy. 94 and U.S. Hwys. 20/35. For more information, write to the LaPorte County Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1503 S. Meer Rd., Michigan City, Ind. 46360.
HORSING AROUND More than 1,500 of the world`s best Arabian and half Arabian horses will be featured in the 33d Annual All Arabian Horse Show Feb. 13-21 at Paradise Park, 6200 E. Bell Rd., Scottsdale, Ariz.
The horses will compete in 177 classes, including halter, dressage, jumping, native costume and pleasure riding events.
For more information, contact the Arabian Horse Association of Arizona, P.O. Box 385, Scottsdale, Ariz. 85252, or call 602-264-5691.
FREE FOR THE WRITING For a 32-page catalogue listing American adventure trips, write to American Wilderness Adventures of American Wilderness Alliance, Suite 114, 7600 E. Arapahoe Rd., Englewood, Colo. 80112, or call 303-771-0380. . . . For a copy of a 32-page catalogue listing river rafting adventures in the West, write to Western River and Touring Association, 7258 Racquet Club Dr., Salt Lake City, Utah 84121, or call 800-453-7450.
A CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR THE MIDWEST ILLINOIS Quad Cities USA Outdoor Show, Rock Island, Feb. 11-14. Fishing equipment, boats and resorts; 319-324-0433.
Lincoln Birthday Open House at Mt. Pulaski Courthouse, Mt. Pulaski, Feb. 13. Festivities celebrating Abraham Lincoln`s birthday; 217-732-8930.
INDIANA Parke County Maple Syrup Fair, Rockville, Feb. 27-28 and March 5-6. 317-569-5226.
IOWA Tulip Mania, Des Moines, Feb. 17-March 14. At Des Moines Botanical Center; 515-238-4148.
MICHIGAN Winterfest, Gaylord, Feb. 11-14. Snow sculptures, ski races, ice fishing, cross-country skiing; 517-732-4000.
Winter Carnival, Alpena, Feb. 12-14. 517-354-4181.
Winter Sports Carnival, Charlevoix, Feb. 13-14. Downhill ski races, snow- cat rides; 616-547-2101.
WISCONSIN Magnificent Voyagers: The U.S. Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842, Milwaukee, through April 24. An exhibition at the Milwaukee Public Museum re- creating the history of an epic American expedition to the South Seas and Antarctica; 414-278-2702.
7th Annual Wisconsin Freighting Championship Sled Dog Races and Christmas Mountain Winter Carnival, Wisconsin Dells, Feb. 13-14. Sled dog teams compete for prizes; 800-22-DELLS or 608-253-1000.
Heart `n` Hearth Craft Show and Winter Carnival, Cedarburg, Feb. 13-14. Craft show and sale at Stonewood Village and a winter carnival featuring snow sculpture and ice carving; 414-781-9703.
Craft Today: Poetry of the Physical, Milwaukee, Feb. 12-April 10. More than 300 handmade crafts by artists from 36 states on display at the Milwaukee Art Museum; 414-271-9508.
